The need to orient product containers arises for both functional and cosmetic reasons. For example, where the incongruous seam of a metal container must be located so as not to interfere with the subsequent addition of a fixture to the container's outer sidewall, a device to pre-orient the container can be used to advantage. U.S. Pat. No. 3,306,473, issued to McCoy illustrates container must have a particular orientation to be filled with product by means of a fill valve, having a predetermined position along a conveyor system. Thus, in Jorgensen et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,993,199, an apparatus for automatically- aligning a drum's filler fitting with a fluid fill valve, is disclosed.
It is also desirable, particularly where containers are packaged together in open-sided cartons or by means of interconnected plastic loops for six packs of beverage, to orient a selected portion of the containers outwardly, both for cosmetic purposes and for product identification. Representative prior art showing apparatus designed to so orient containers is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,618,743 issued to Benatar, U.S. Pat. No. 3,415,350, granted to Murphy, and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,451,523 issued to Evans, Jr., et al.